I offer this in response to some comments I see here about nuclear energy. First, I'm interested in Wind and Solar energy for myself. What I write isn't to bash wind/solar - I'm eagerly reading all I can about DIY solar/wind power generation, and at this moment I think my next project will be a turbine of my own. But I, like others (I fear), want this energy for the wrong reason - it's almost being forced upon me. You see, what I really want is out from under fossil fuels - Oil and Coal. As far as power is concerned, it's expensive and dirty. But please do not discount Nuclear power. We've been taught to fear it, but there really is no better alternative at the moment. Injuries from mining coal, and the emissions from coal power plants (where half or more of our energy comes from) are very real, and quite excessive. "Coal mining" isn't a desk job - it's dangerous work to pull the stuff out of the earth - 909 billion tonnes left, which at our current rate of consumption will last 45 years. An argument is "nuclear waste is dangerous". Unlike other forms of waste (from other modern power gereration) you're never going to come into contact with nuclear waste - and to think that you "might" is simply naive. There are several videos like this one, showing how safe the transportation of nuclear waste is, even in the worst of accidents. Tests like this are done to reassure the fears that we (people such as you and me) have about the waste. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJflu7z4QyI The impact on the environment from Nuclear power is actually surprisingly minimal -- what ends up in the environment from nuclear power? That white stuff you see coming out of the tops of Nuclear power plants? Only steam. The waste generated does not end up in our environment. It is shipped in train-wreck proof containers to sit for eternity. If you find this part the most unappealing, then please-oh-please stop and consider where all the batteries will end up from home off-grid projects. Batteries aren't easy to dispose of, and nearly no one does it legally. They go into the landfills where they're unaccounted for. Imagine the number of batteries if "everyone" needed a bank of batteries at home. Please consider for a moment that the waste from batteries is far more harmful to us and our planet than Nuclear power. Everyone can, however, get clean power from Nuclear energy. And many do, from pre-ban nuclear plants right here in the US. The problem is that due to the ban, we cannot build more. Due to the ban, the last 30+ years with which we could have been building modern, more safe, more efficient plants have gone wasted - all the while we were burning more and more coal. Safety wise, nuclear power plants in the US have an amazing track record. "No US citizen has ever been significantly harmed by using Nuclear power" -- Penn Jillette (more on this in a sec). People point to "Chernobyl" but Chernobyl was a result from a very screwed up Russia in the '80s. Their nation was unstable - they could barely feed themselves. We, however, have up-kept our nuclear power plants well, and can point to our own success to show why it's very much a viable option - not for Russia in the 80s. But for us. It's fear (and the ban) that is in the way. If you can stomach some in-your-face (and hopefully amusing) content, I recommend watching a specific episode of Penn & Teller's show "Bullshit" where they discuss fears and myths about Nuclear energy - this may be the entire clip right here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Usg7-xbQOcM Someday perhaps solar panels will be replaced by nantenna technology (read about it, it's fascinating) and Nuclear Fission will be replaced by Nuclear Fusion (the holy grail). These days are not here, however, and in the mean time I believe Nuclear Fission deserves some honest modern evaluation.